Egg-carrier.



A. E. HARTMAN.

EGG CARRIER.

APPLICATloN man FEB.24,1917.

Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

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Atri-inn n. Henri/ian, er PITTSBURGH, rnnivSYLvANia, iis-sientan or Two-reines Y To tanins asien, or Prrrsnnaeri, PENNSYLVANIA.

EGG-CARRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 8, i918,

Application filed ebriiaiy 24, 1917. Serial No. 150,727.

To all iti/wm t may concern Bc it known that l, ALFRED E, Hairriiixi, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county oi' ri-llegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Egg- Carriers, of which the lfollowing is a speciiication.

iy invention relates to egg carriers and its object is to 'provide a collapsible containerliaving. resilient pockets ot a capacity and shape suilicient to securely retain the eggs, and having a construction enabling` the container proper to be provided with. or without an iiiclosing cover and in which, when'the cover is so provided, the saine may torni an integral part 0f the structure ct the container proper, and in which, when thc cover is not provided, the remaining body of the article constitutes a complete egg carrier. y

lVith these objects and others in view,.my invention is embodied in preferable form in the construction hereinafter described and illusti'atcd in the accompanying drawings.

In these drawings,

*Figure l isfa plan view ot an 'egg carrier embodying my invention and having a portion of one cover member attached,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 ot Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an end view.

Fig. 4 is a detail plan of one of said members providing the pocket base and the cross partition removed from the longitudinal partition strips.

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the carrier collapsed, with a portion of the cover member broken away.

Referring to the drawings, l indicates longitudinal 'strips lying in vertical planes and constituting longitudinal partitions. Each of these strips l is provided with a series of vertical slots Q.

Adapted to engage these longitudinal partitions are transverse partition members formed of a single flat slotted blank and having, when bent into form for assemblage in the container, a vertical cross wall 3, a shorter vertical wall 4l, and a bottom section 5, provided by folding up the end portions of the blank to form the end walls. rlhe blank is provided with longitudinal slots 6 corresponding in number to the longitudinal partition members 1 and adapted to engage the saine. The two outermost slots are tormed near the edges of the blank, leaving narrow longitudinal border strips 7 which bear against the outer rfaces ot the oiite-r lon` gitiidinal strips, and lock the cross partiion bodies against transverse movement.

That portion 8 of the slot 6 which eX- tends up into the shorter vertical wall 4: of theblank is longer than that portion 9 of the slot 6 which extends into the longer wall 3, this difference in length corresponding to the difference in height of the two walls, and this slot section 8,'theiefore, extends Vnearer to the upper edge of its wall LL than thc slot section 9 does to the upper edge oi the wall 3, whereby, when the cross members are engaged with the longitudinal partition strips in assembling the parts, which is ei tected by inserting the long wall 3 into the slot 2, and-pressing it down until the upper end of its slot 8 strikes against the bottom ot the slot 2, and engaging the strip l outside ot the slot 2, with the slot 9 of the shorter wall` 4 of an adjacent cross member, so that said latter wall will'straddle the strips.V T he upper edges of the two walls of adjoining ymembers will be on the saine level and vwill project above the edges of the strips 1.

ln this position of the parts, a series of rectangular pockets for the eggs will be formed and the bottom sections 5 will be at an inclination to a horizontal plane, owing to the di'erence in height of the walls 3 and e. The length of the slot section 8 of the longer wall is preferably such that the lower edge of the inclined bottom is above the level of the bottom edges of the longitudinal strip, so that the container is supported by the strips which, theretore` in addition to forming partitions, also constitute comparatively stiii'7 supporting rails, the edges of which are spaced suiiiciently beyond the bottoms to protect the latter and the eggs resting thereon.

This spacing is, of course, mainly provided by the inclination of the bottom. The inclined bottom also provides a yielding support for the egg and a stronger receptacle since the weight is thrown partly on the vertical walls by the inclination of the base. By placing the walls of adjoining cross inembers against `one another, a double wall is provided at each Vend of each pocket, eX- cept at the ends of the container, which arrangement greatly strengthens the pockets.

f Each strip l at the end thereof which the short wall 4 of the end cross member engages is provided with anpabutment lug l0 adapted to extend upwardly against the border of the wall to retain said wall against longitudinal disengagement. The opposite end of the strip may also be provided with a similar lug 1l.

The construction thus described provides a complete egg carrier, but in the article illustrated (see particularly Fig. 3) the carrier is provided with parts adapted to form anvinclosing cover.

Referring to this feature, the two outside longitudinal strips l are provided with integral side extensions or flaps 12, joined to said strips by a lfolding line. Joining each of these flaps by a folding line is an outer longitudinal flap 13. The flaps 12 are adapted `to be folded up against the sides of the container proper and the flaps 13 down overthe top of the container, upon one another, thus providing an inclosing. cover.

Y l. A collapsible egg carrier having independent longitudinal partition and supporting strips including two outer strips, and a plurality of independent members separable from said strips each including two vertically disposed transversely extending partitionV walls, an inclined bottom, and strips bearing against the said outer longitudinal strips.

2. A collapsible eggcarrier having independent longitudinal partition and supporting strips including two outer strips, and a .plurality of independent members separable from said strips each includingV two vertically disposed transversely extending partition walls, an inclined bottom, and strips bearing against the said outer longitudinal strips, said members being assembled 0 form double walls between adjacent memers.

3. A collapsible egg carrier having independent longitudinal partition and supporting strips including two outer strips, and a plurality of independent members separable from said strips, each including two vertically disposed transversely extending partition walls and an inclined bottom, said outer strips having side aps integral therewith and adapted to form a cover.

4'. A collapsible egg carrier having independent longitudinal parallel partition strips includingY two outer strips, and a transverse partition and bottom forming member having slots to engage said longitudinal strips, and having vertical walls and a connectingV bottom, one of said walls being of greater vertical length than the other to form an inclination to the bottom, said member having means engaging the outer faces of the outer strips.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. Y

ALFRED E. HARTMAN. Witnesses: j

WV. G. DooLrr'rLn,v

ALICE B. DICE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve `cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. C. Y 

